32S PROTECTION OF THE POLLEN. 



qiiently its purpose is liable to be frustrated 

 by rain or heavy dews. Linnaeus observes 

 that husbandmen find their crops of rye to 

 .suffer more from this cause than barley, be- 

 cause in the latter the anthers are more pro^ 

 tected by the husks; and the Juniper berries 

 are sparingly, or not at all, produced in Swe- 

 den when the flowering season has been wet. 

 The same great observer also remarks, what 

 yearly experience confirms, that Cherry-trees 

 are more certainly fruitful than Pear-trees, 

 because in the former the opening of the an- 

 thers is, in each blossom, much more pro- 

 gressive, so that a longer period elapses for 

 the accomplishment of the fertilization of the 

 germen, and there is consequently less chance 

 of its being hindered by a few showers. 



To «:uard as-ainst the hurtful influence of 

 nocturnal dews or drenching rains, most 

 flowers either fold their petals together, or 

 hang dow^n their heads, when the sun does 

 not shine; by which, their internal organs 

 are sheltered. In some which always droop, 

 as the Snowdrops Galanthus and Leiicojumy 

 jE:«g/. Z3oif.M9and6"21,the Fritillary, j^. 622, 

 the Crown Imperial, various species of Ca??2- 



